Boruc isn’t Blessed at Old Firm

It is one of the fiercest rivalries in all of sports and Polish keeper Artur Boruc has added further fuel to the fire.

Boruc is facing a possible day in court following his alleged actions in February when his Celtic team played Rangers in Glasgow. Boruc is accused of taunting Rangers’ fans by blessing himself during the Old Firm.

This seemingly harmless action displayed by athletes around the world these days takes on a different meaning when Celtic and Rangers square off with the well-documented undercurrents of Protestant and Catholic tension in the stands. A situation Franklin Foer describes as thus:

Glasgow has two teams, or rather, existential enemies. Celtic represents Irish Catholics. Its songs blame the British for the potato famine, and its games have historically provided fertile territory for Irish Republican Army (IRA) recruiters. Across town, there is Rangers, the club of Tory unionism. Banners in the stadium trumpet the Ulster Defense Forces and other Northern Irish protestant paramilitaries. Before games, fans—including respectable lawyers and businessmen—shout a song with the charming line, “We’re up to our knees in Fenian blood.” They sing about William of Orange, “King Billy,” and his masterminding of the Protestant triumph in 1690 at the Battle of the Boyne. Until 1989, Rangers consciously forbade the hiring of Catholic players. Crosstown rivalries are, of course, a staple of sports, but the Celtic-Rangers rivalry represents something more than the enmity of proximity. It is the unfinished fight over the Protestant Reformation.

Some Related Stories:

Category: Scottish Premier League